Pickup Truck Sales See a Huge Dip in February Reports

Things weren’t so rosy for automakers looking for a little lift in their pickup truck sales.

Recently, we noted how pickup truck sales were on the rise. Well, that didn’t last long.

New reports coming out of the pickup truck industry show that February was a particularly crappy month for most pickup truck sales including a major drip for GM’s Silverado and Fiat Chrysler’s Ram series.

Deliveries for the Ram, Silverado, and Sierra all dipped at least 15%, making it the worst sales month since Hurricane Harvey affected auto sales in late summer last year. The only semi-bright spot in the report from U.S. News shows the Ford F-150 getting a small bump up in sales for the month, but still missing its target estimates.

Numbers Game

Auto sales across the board fell an average of 2%. GM took a 7% loss, mainly because of the chunk of sales lost out by the Silverado, it’s top-selling vehicle. Pickup truck sales for the Silverado were off 16% year-over-year.

Ford also saw a 7% loss, but mostly because of its car and SUV sales taking hits. The F-Series, the biggest seller for Ford, got a boost of 3.5% for the month, compared to February 2017.

Fiat Chrysler didn’t fare too much better. Even though it only saw a 1% drop in sales, boosted by strong Jeep and Alfa Romeo sales, its Ram series plummeted like it was shot from the sky. Pickup truck sales for the Ram dropped 14%, something far from expected.

Where Does This Lead?

Seeing these numbers could spark a surge in discounts this summer to entice buyers. Summer sales are usually solid for pickups and people will still have some cash to burn, left over from this year’s tax returns.

While discounting can help get things back on track, it has led to overproduction in previous years. Will automakers be able to find the right formula to balance things out?